A Place To Crash
by MoonlightFox143
Summary: Naruto needs a place to crash. Who better to go to then a friend? No matter how crappy her life got, Naruto always knew she could count on her friends. So, how much would change if she had a few real friends growing up? FemNaru
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Alright, so I've had this on my computer for awhile and so I decided to post it. It might turn into a multi-chapter story but for right now it's just a cute one shot I felt like writing. Hope you like it. Enjoy and Review. :)**_

_****_**Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.  
**

* * *

She was running.

The sounds of the people following her started to quite down, as she put more and more distance between herself and the crowd. She knew she wouldn't be able to keep up the speed she was running at for long. So she ran to one of the only places she knew she would be safe… at least for a little while.

She turned a sharp corner and ran straight into the woods. She carefully followed the path she had taken many times before. She could have reached her destination a different way. But she knew in the darkness, the crowd could not follow her if she went through the woods.

A couple minutes later, a big house came into view and Naruto quickly and quietly snuck over to the back of the house. Once she was in the view of a small window on the second floor, she scampered up the tree next to it and lightly knocked on the window. Almost immediately it opened, and a sleepy looking boy greeted her.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?" The boy asked brushing dark hair that was usually in a ponytail out of his face.

Naruto chuckled sheepishly.

"Ah, I was wondering if I could stay here tonight. You see, the heater broke in my place and I don't have any extra blankets…" She trailed off, hoping he would believe her.

Grey eyes stared at her shrewdly for a moment, before softening. He sighed and waved her in, mumbling his trademark "Troublesome."

Naruto grinned in relief and clambered into his room. It was small but comfortable. Soft browns and dark greens surrounded her, giving her the feeling she was still in the woods.

Shikamaru watched her silently as she walked around his room ooing and ahhing at everything. He knew his friend was lying, but he wasn't sure why. She was a mystery to him. A puzzle. One he was determined to figure out. He knew the villagers didn't like her for some reason. He also knew that up until this year, all of the academy teachers had hated her too.

They had refused to actually teach her anything, usually sending her out of the room for some reason or another. That's how their friendship had started. One day, she had swallowed her pride and asked him to tutor her. He asked why she wanted him to do it, since he was failing also. And she told him it was because his eyes showed far too much intelligence for him not to be smarter then he seemed.

After that, they became best friends almost as close as he and Choji… No, strike that. They were _just_ as close. But somehow she still kept her secrets from him. It was troublesome.

Shikamaru just shook his head and lay back down on his bed. When he noticed Naruto still standing around, he patted the other side of the bed.

"Go to sleep, Naru. I'm tired." He mumbled, closing his eyes. He heard her chuckle then felt a weight lay down next to him.

He may not know all her secrets, but for now that was okay. For now, she was just a friend that needed a place to crash.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: So I decided to continue this. The chapters will be really short, I'm sorry 'bout that, I know it's annoying. But anyways, since inspiration is lacking a bit for RLSYA and When Life... I figured I'd throw up a couple chapters of this. This is my first Naruto fanfiction, so I may get somethings wrong, but other then that, enjoy! :)**_

__**Disclaimer: I don't own anything... at all... seriously, I'm completely broke. :P**

_Chapter Two_

Naruto sighed as she felt herself waking up. Deciding to fight it a bit, she snuggled closer into her pillow. Despite her efforts, though, her mind slowly started to become aware.

The first thing Naruto noticed as she woke up was that she was warm...and quite comfy, too. The next thing she noticed was that what she had thought was her pillow was moving. Up and down. Up and down.

Then she noticed the arm that was wrapped around her lazily. Unfortunately, in her still half asleep haze, Naruto perceived this as a threat and immediately jumped out of the bed and got into a fighting stance.

The warm body she had previously been using as a pillow just groaned and threw an arm over its eyes.

"Naruto," Shikamaru sighed. "Go back to sleep. It's too early."

Naruto sagged with relief as memories of the night before flew to the forefront of her mind. She was at Shikamaru's. She was safe.

Realizing she wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep now, Naruto took the time to look around the room she was in. Sure, she and Shikamaru had been friends since her second year at the Academy, and yes, she spent a lot of time in the woods around the Nara compound, but she had never actually been in his house before.

Early morning sunlight streamed in through the window she had climbed in earlier. It bounced off the woodsy colored walls, making the whole room feel relaxing. Naruto supposed that fit, as the young Nara heir was the laziest person she knew. So, of course his room would just ooze peacefulness.

Naruto was startled out of her thoughts when she heard someone padding their way down the hall. That's when it hit her.

She was in the Nara clan heads house. She had stayed the night without permission and she was quite sure if Yoshino-San found out, she would never be allowed back. Don't get her wrong. Naruto thought Yoshino-San was great. She was the only one Naruto had ever met, that had the power to make Shikamaru actually do something. But she also knew that Shikamaru's mother was very strict and most likely would not be happy about her staying last night.

"She won't care."

Naruto jumped, her head whipping around to see Shikamaru watching her from the bed. "What?" Naruto asked still slightly on edge.

"Mom won't care. She likes you too much." Shikamaru explained with a smirk. Naruto grinned and sat on the bed next to him.

"How did you know what I was thinking about?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I guessed."

Naruto shook her head. Sometimes she thought Shikamaru could read minds. Well, hers at least. He always seemed to know what she was thinking. Smirking to herself, she poked the boy next to her.

"Come on, lazy. I'm hungry."

Shikamaru groaned but got up anyways.

_**Don't forget to review! :)**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Hello! I'm a little late in posting this as per the schedule I've made for myself, but anyways, not the point. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Your comments made me smile. :)**_

_**Hope you enjoy this chapter, its a little different from the past two.**_

_****_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything... at all... its sad... really sad...**

_Chapter Three_

The girl quickly and quietly made her way to the top of the Hokage Mountain, her short blonde hair blowing slightly in the wind. The girl wrapped a rope securely around a tree and expertly made a harness for herself. She only had an hour before the sun would rise and then she would make her escape. The girl tied a few cans of paint to her harness and stuffed a few paintbrushes into her jacket.

_Here goes nothing._ The girl thought as she dropped down the side of the mountain. Despite the fact that the girl wore a horribly bright orange jumpsuit, she went unnoticed as she started on her master piece. Years of pranks and out maneuvering ANBU had made the girl much stealthier then most would like to believe.

While most were right in believing that she wore the orange jumpsuit because it was her favorite color that was not the only reason. It was also because— on a suggestion by the Hokage— she used it as stealth training… it helped that she couldn't afford anything else, too. It had taken a long time and many captures to get to the point she was at. Her most memorable moment being when she snuck into the Hyuuga compound, put Jell-o mix in all their showerheads, and snuck out undetected. Ah… Good times…

Naruto was jerked out of her thoughts by a group of Chuunin on top of the Hokage tower yelling for her to stop. Naruto smirked to herself. _Game time… _She thought just before she turned around and threw a couple insults at them. Finishing up her master piece, she scrambled back up the mountain and made a break for it. She hadn't seen Iruka-sensei in the crowd, so she felt she had a good chance of getting away.

At least she did until she felt someone grab the back of her jacket collar and found herself face to face with the previously mentioned sensei. The greatest mystery of them all was how she could out run and out maneuver ANBU but was never able to escape Iruka.

"Dammit, Naruto! You're supposed to be in class!" Her secretly favorite teacher scolded.

Naruto plopped onto the ground and pouted.

"I was training."

Iruka opened his mouth to say something then stopped… then did the same thing a few more times before growling, shaking his head and dragging her back to the Academy, Naruto pouting the whole way.

~{ }~

After Iruka had dragged Naruto back to the Academy, he gave a big speech about taking the academy seriously and how important having a sturdy foundation in the ninja ways was. Then he made them all take a review quiz on the three academy jutsu.

Everyone groaned and shot Naruto dirty looks, while she happily made her way to her seat in the back. She poked Shikamaru in the forehead when she sat down next to him to get his attention. He cracked one eye open and looked at her from his slouched position.

Naruto made a face at him and said. "Iruka-sensei made a new record today."

Shikamaru did nothing more then raise an eyebrow.

"One minute and forty seven seconds." Naruto continued unperturbed. She was far too used to his unresponsiveness to really care. "I think I might just make him an award."

Shikamaru snorted and muttered his trademark 'troublesome'. Most people found Shikamaru to be an aloof jerk, but Naruto and Choji knew better. Shikamaru was a genius with an extremely lazy attitude. Naruto had theorized that the reason he was so lazy was because all his energy was used up by his mind and that left barely anything for the rest of him. Shikamaru's mother said it was just genetics.

Shikamaru's mind wasn't the only thing special about him though. He was also extremely loyal. Ever since he'd become friends with Naruto and Choji, he would always stand up for them to bullies (That included some older Chuunins) and when no one was around, he could be the kindest person she knew. Mostly though, he was a lazy, aloof, bluntly honest, rude, jerk… and Naruto loved him for it.

~{ }~

It was a few days after the impromptu sleepover, and the two friends were sitting on the Hokage monument watching the stars.

"I think I prefer cloud gazing." Shikamaru said after a few moments of silence. He flopped backwards so he was laying down, while still having his legs hang over the edge. "It's more relaxing. With stars, it's all chaotic with there being so many everywhere. Makes it hard to blank out your mind. With clouds, it's simple. They're just a couple of random fluffs of white that float slowly through the sky, lulling your mind into a daze… Relaxing."

Naruto smiled. She could see the truth in the words, but she liked the 'chaos' of the stars. Finding constellations in the sky was like finding answers to her questions in her jumbled up mind. Why did the villagers hate her? What did she do? Why was everyone so determined to see the worst in her?

"The Genin test is tomorrow. Do you think you're ready?" Naruto asked to distract herself.

Shikamaru frowned and glanced at her. Usually she would fight with him about whether stars were better then clouds. She must be upset or something, and if that was true, what was upsetting her?

"As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose. My mother would probably kill me if I failed." He answered.

Naruto laughed. "I bet she would. I think I'm ready, but I'm not sure I want to show them just how far I've come over the years yet. They still think I'm some pranking fool, who couldn't tell you left from right."

"You _are_ a pranking fool." Shikamaru smirked as Naruto punched him in the arm lightly.

"You know what I mean."

Shikamaru sighed. "I think it would be smart to keep your abilities to yourself for the most part. Ninjas thrive on being underestimated and unpredictable after all."

Naruto nodded. At first, when she was younger, she had wanted nothing more then for the village to see just what she was capable of. But now… Now she felt it was more to her advantage to keep those things to herself. Most would say she was making tactical move for battle advantage, but she didn't do it because she wanted to have one up on her opponent. It was because she knew the stronger she got, the more the villagers would be scared of her and hate her.

Naruto was pulled from her thoughts when Shikamaru stood.

"Come on. My mothers making dinner and you know how much she likes having you around."

Naruto smiled. "Well, let's go then! Don't want to make Momma Nara angry now, do we?" She grabbed his hand and dragged him back down the mountain, practically skipping the whole way to the Nara compound.

**A/N: Don't forget to review. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N: I apologize for the long wait, it feels like I haven't updated in years. :( As I'm sure you guys really don't want to hear my excuses, though, I'll just get on with the story. I hope you enjoy._**

**_P.S. Sorry for any grammar mistakes._**

**Disclaimer: I really don't own anything... Seriously. If I did own Naruto things would be pretty crazy.**

_Chapter Four_

The next morning Naruto watched in boredom as the Pink Harpy (Sakura) and the Blonde Harpy (Ino) fought over who got to sit next to the Duck-Butt Bastard (Sasuke). Next to Naruto, Shikamaru was laying his head on his arms and snoring softly. On Naruto's other side, Choji was munching away on one of his endless bags of chips. (Seriously, where did the guy get those things?)

Naruto dropped her head on the desk in front of her and groaned. The Harpies really needed to shut up, they were giving her a massive headache.

Finally, after a particularly loud shriek, Naruto stood up.

"Oh, for the love of all that is holy in this world! Sasuke, just sit in the middle so the two Harpies will shut UP!" Glaring fiercely at the dumbstruck faces of the three people mentioned, Naruto sat back down, muttering to herself. "Stupid Harpies, with their stupid crushes…"

Next to her Shikamaru chuckled. Before Sasuke or the girls could say anything, Iruka, Chuunin teacher extraordinaire, walked into the room.

"SHUT UP!" He automatically yelled using his infamous Big-Head Jutsu. The class quieted down and he continued on to give the class a speech about what it meant to be a ninja. After that he set them to do a written test. Naruto, having taken Shikamaru's words the other night to heart, only did as much as she needed to pass.

She had learned over the past couple of years, that while she was no genius, when someone took the time to explain things to her right, she learned very fast. So by the end of her time at the Academy, Naruto was ten times smarter then she would have been on her own.

But Shikamaru wasn't the only teacher Naruto had gotten over the years. Two years ago, Naruto had been cornered by a group of drunken civilians that were not happy with her at all.

"_All right you little monster. It's time you paid for your crimes." A big, ugly man carrying a broken bottle sneered as he walked towards the trembling figure against the alley wall._

_She wasn't really sure how she even got into this mess. One moment she was walking home from dinner at Ichiraku's and the next thing she knew she had a broken ankle and was being cornered by a bunch of drunks. She had no way of defending herself and no way of escape. Oh, how she wished an ANBU was here to save her again._

_Naruto's thoughts were cut short as the man with the bottle lunged. Naruto closed her eyes waiting for the pain that would surely come, but was startled when she heard the man give a strangled cry. Then she heard a snap and another cry, this time from another man. A few more seconds and some cries of pain later and there was silence. Naruto opened her eyes slowly to see the men who had her cornered all lying on the ground unconscious._

"_Are you alright?" A calm voice asked from next to her making her jump._

_The man was tall, with spiky black hair and a weird little beard. He had blood splattered on his face and his cigarette was broken in half (Though he was still smoking it), but he still looked at her with kind eyes. She recognized him as a jounin by the vest he was wearing, but what caught her eye was the white sash around his waist. Realizing he was waiting for a reply, she nodded slowly._

_He scrutinized her for a moment before sighing and picking her up._

_She squeaked and put her arms around his neck in a death grip. "What are you doing?"_

_He gave her a look. "Your ankle's broken and you look like you're going into shock. I'm taking you to the hospital."_

_Naruto glared at him defiantly for a moment before sighing in resignation. "I'm Naruto."_

_The man smiled. "Asuma."_

After that, Naruto begged him to teach her how to defend herself. She never wanted to be in a position like that again. He was reluctant at first, but gave in after she continued to follow him around, begging. He wouldn't teach her anything fancy, but helped her with a slightly more advanced version of the Academy taijutsu and taught her how best to throw kunai and shuriken.

It wasn't until a year after their first meeting that she found herself running for her life again. Of course this time, it was on her birthday.

_Naruto was scared. Asuma had told her he would be gone on a mission that week, so she wasn't expecting help. It had been ages since an ANBU had saved her; since she told the Old Man that she had his son to protect her and didn't need to be followed by ANBU anymore. Boy, did she regret that now._

_Naruto pushed her way through the crowds of people, celebrating the day the Kyuubi was defeated. She looked back to see if she lost her pursuers and before she could turn back around, she slammed into someone. _

"_Sorry!" Naruto yelled panicked. Was it another villager? In her rush to get away, she nearly tripped, but was caught by the person._

"_Naruto?" Big blue eyes looked up at the man who caught her. He was wearing a bandana backwards on his head and had a Senbon needle in his mouth. She didn't recognize him, but he apparently knew who she was._

"_Who are you?" She asked while her eyes darted around the crowd looking for her pursuers._

_The man frowned slightly, but still held on to the scruff of her jacket, where he had grabbed to stop her falling. _

"_Names Shiranui Genma. Asuma told me to watch out for you. He said you tend to get into trouble a lot." Genma said with an easy smile._

_Naruto frowned at him. She wasn't sure she could trust him, but when she finally spotted her pursuers, hesitating across the street to get at her, she decided she should stick with the man. After Naruto calmed down a bit, Genma suggested they walk around the festival together. _

_As the night wore on, Genma noticed Naruto started to let her guard down around him, as he continued to ward off would be attackers. He frowned. So this is what his boss's kid had to put up with all the time? He wasn't stupid; he figured out a long time ago that Naruto was the Yondaime's kid and it just made him madder to see the villagers treat her like that._

_That night, even if Naruto hadn't known it yet, she gained one more person into her little makeshift family._

So with not only Shikamaru, but Asuma and Genma looking out for her and helping her, Naruto felt pretty confident that she could pass the Genin exam easily enough. Besides, she wanted to make them all proud.

_**A/N: I think I finally (sort of) know where I'm going with this story and I'm kinda excited to see how you guys will like how it'll all play out. I'm hoping the next update will be much, much quicker. The next chapter is already half way done! Don't forget to review. I love hearing from you guys.**_

_**P.S. Sorry for the rambling, I'm really, really tired.**_


End file.
